


Fetch

by ImmortalCoelacanth



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Accents are a pain to write, Alternate Game Mode, Bonus Shift, Gen, Salmon Run (Splatoon), Steelheads are evil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:22:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24378661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImmortalCoelacanth/pseuds/ImmortalCoelacanth
Summary: A new high stakes shift for Salmon Run is introduced called “Fetch”. The goal is the same, collect as many Golden Eggs as you can, but the method is a bit different...
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Fetch

**Author's Note:**

> Salmon Run is probably my favourite thing about Splatoon 2, but inspiration hit and I’ve designed a hypothetical new mode that changes things up a bit, in story form of course :3

The trio of Inklings walked up the ramp to the Grizzco building, excitement blooming within them as they remembered why they were here. Just this morning not only had Pearl and Marina announced a new mode for Salmon Run, sponsored by Grizzco Industries, but _flyers_ had also been put up all over the place!

Inkopolis Square was now a mess of papers and excitement since there were many Inklings who were curious about this new mode.

It was described as being a high stakes, risk vs. reward version of Salmon Run. Teams still needed to collect Golden Eggs but there was an odd restriction that had left many Inklings confused and a little annoyed.

Fetch, the new shift, could only be completed in teams of three.

This, of course, caused some trouble for many squads as they were teams of four and would have to leave someone out. There was also the matter of skill level since few Inklings wished to be stuck with someone who would not be good enough to work this new shift.

There was quite a bit of cash on the line and the bonuses were supposed to be _extremely_ rewarding, hinting at just how tough the job might be.

Risk vs. reward, the chance for failure was high, but the payoff would be worth it.

The leader of this rag tag group was a boy by the name of Marcus. He was the oldest of the trio and the most experienced at Turf War. His tentacles had been pulled back into a short ponytail and at the moment was light blue in colour. His yellow eyes, made all the more vibrant as they contrasted against his dark skin, were hidden behind the shades he always wore.

The other two team members were the twins, Pip and Trip. Both had short light blue tentacles, with Pip’s falling down to her shoulders and Trip’s parted to one side. Both had a light tan, partly due to how much time they spent outside, usually fighting in Turf Wars or running around and tormenting the inhabitants of Inkopolis Square. Another difference between the twins was that Pip had light purple, borderline pink, eyes while Trip had dark purple eyes.

Those eyes were now eagerly looking into the Grizzco building, more than ready to figure out what this Fetch thing was all about.

The leader paused at the entrance for a moment, noticing that there was no one around. It was strange, usually there were at least a couple Inklings hanging around waiting to pick up a Salmon Run shift. To see it so empty was eerie to say the least.

He sighed and kept walking inside. Hopefully this was not a sign of how tough the Fetch shift would be.

“Hello Mr. Grizz.” Marcus greeted as his team entered the dark building. The bear statue was resting in its usual position and seemed to jump up as the gravelly voice began speaking.

“You’re just in time,” The voice paused, noticing the specific number of people that were standing in the entrance. “You three interested in working the newest shift?”

Pip eagerly nodded, eyes shining with glee. “Yeah Mr. Grizz!”

“Well congratulations, you three are the first group to work this new shift.” The voice uttered. Both Pip and Trip let out a cheer while Marcus looked a bit concerned. Before the oldest Inkling could ask another question, Mr. Grizz continued speaking.

“Now let’s get you three geared up and on the boat!”

Pip and Trip quickly rushed towards the room that the Salmon Run gear was kept with Marcus following after. He was still a bit worried about how quiet it had been but soon found himself getting caught up in the rush of excitement.

Clothes were changed and gear was stored in the lockers. The best part about working Salmon Run shifts was definitely the fact that you never had to worry about any of your gear being stolen. Grizzco took any thefts that happened on company property very seriously and Mr. Grizz did everything in his power to make sure nothing got stolen.

It was oddly considered for someone who only seemed to care about money.

Then again maybe Mr. Grizz just did not want there to be any chances to get sued for stolen gear.

Everyone changed as fast as they could, knowing Mr. Grizz would want to get them on the boat as soon as possible. Marcus reluctantly left his shades in the locker. It was strange but he always felt more vulnerable without them, and walked out to join the rest of his team.

The trio then soon found themselves on a familiar boat being driven out to the island they would be working at. It took some time to reach their destination and the air was filled with Trip and Pip discussing what they believed the shift would be like.

Marcus was just worried about their fourth team member.

Weapons were swiftly and efficiently handed out. Trip was given a Tenta Brella, Pip had a Krak-On Splat Roller in her grip, and Marcus found himself holding a Splattershot Jr. Luckily enough they were all weapons they had some practice in, though Pip preferred using brushes rather than rollers, so no one was too concerned about having to adapt to using a brand new weapon in a short period of time.

After what felt like an eternity to the twins the team arrived at their destination, an island that rose up from the dark, inky sea. “Alright you three, get off here.”

With that the team super jumped to the, somewhat circular, island, tentacles turning orange in the process. Excitement was running through them once again as they wondered what their new teammate would be like and how tough the fight would be.

The island was quite smaller than any of the other locations Salmon Run took place in. It was mostly dirt and had a few concrete platforms that stuck out into the water. A few bits of metal also poked out of the ground, most likely to provide cover.

Without a doubt the most eye catching feature of this landform was the tower that sat in the center of it. It was massive, providing the perfect vantage point for anyone who used a charger, but large enough for only one person to stand there. Due to the height the trio could not see if there was anyone inside the room at the top of the structure.

Interestingly enough there appeared to be a bucket attached to a pulley system that lead up to the seemingly empty room.

“So, uh, where’s our other teammate?” Trip asked, scratching at his borrowed hat while he spoke.

“She’s sitting in the main tower.” The voice gruffly replied. Mr. Grizz then continued speaking, but not to the trio.

“YAN, GET OUT HERE AND GREET YOUR CREW!”

A rustling noise echoed across the small island, coming from the tower. Marcus walked forward and looked up, noticing a figure now leaning out and looking at him. He could not make out too much of what this “Yan” person looked like, but based on the height of the figure one thing was clear.

It was an _adult!_

He heard gasps come from Trip and Pip as they also realized this.

It was not unheard of for an adult to participate in some way in the battles between young Inklings, such as being referees during Turf Wars, but Yan was _on their team_ , something Marcus had never heard of.

He noticed the adult waving and he quickly waved back, excitement thrumming through him. Mr. Grizz then cleared his throat, catching the trio’s attention, and began explaining.

“Here’s how Fetch works. You three have one job, collect the Golden Eggs dropped by the Boss Salmonids and bring them to the collection basket.”

The trio glanced back at the tower and noticed the collection basket sitting beside it, begging to be filled up. Marcus also took this chance to try and see if he could spot Yan once again, but found the figure to be absent.

“Unfortunately for you guys this spot attracts one type of Boss Salmonid only, the Steelhead.” The trio shuddered. Steelheads were easily dealt with when you had someone using a charger or splatling, but when there was more than one things got a bit tricky.

“However, Yan will be in charge of taking them out. Your jobs will be to collect, or fetch, the Golden Eggs they drop.”

“What?!” Pip shouted, actually jumping back in shock. “But that sounds so _easy!_ ”

“DID I SAY I WAS DONE TALKING?!” The trio yelped as the gruff voice shouted into their headsets. Pip quickly shook her head and the voice continues talking.

“Like I was saying, Yan will be taking care of the Steelheads, but due to the way her lookout was constructed it takes her too long to regenerate her ink, which is where your second job kicks in.”

Confusion now coated everyone’s face. Why would the tower be designed in a way that _limited_ ink regeneration? It was an odd oversight for someone as detail oriented as Mr. Grizz...

“You will all be in charge of making sure Yan has enough ink to take down those Steelheads. Without her you three will get DESTROYED, so make sure you keep an eye on her ink level!”

Marcus glanced over at Trip and, after he caught the other Inkling’s eyes, nodded at him. Trip was usually very observant, be it in everyday life or in Turf Wars, so it would be best if he were in charge of managing Yan’s ink level in case they did not notice it dropping too low.

“And lesser Salmonids will still be showing up, so you have to be on guard at all times. Other than that this shift functions just like a normal one, you’ve got three waves to get through and if you three on the ground get splatted you’re done.”

Nervous chattering erupted from the gathered Inklings. Now it was easy to see why this new shift was being promoted as something far more challenging. In a sense they were a team of three with a support that, supposedly, would take out the most challenging enemies and allow them to collect the spoils.

There were fewer people to revive you if you got splatted and there would be far more projectile attacks to keep an eye on.

Wonderful.

“NOW GET TO WORK!” The voice of Mr. Grizz roared into their headsets, making the accessory jump from the intensity of the volume.

With that the trio quickly sprinted towards the tower with Trip immediately filling the bucket up with ink. They watched as, once it was full, it was pulled up towards the top of the tower for their teammate to use.

Suddenly their headsets crackled once again, but this time it was a cool, feminine drawl that filled their ears rather than the gruff voice of Mr. Grizz. Yan was speaking to them.

“Alright, listen up ya three.” Her accent was something Marcus nor had both of the twins ever heard in their lives. She slurred her words, blending them together in an almost indiscernible mess.

“Ah’ll take care o’the Bosses, and ye’ll take care o’the Eggs. Don’t worry about collectin’ any that’re too far away, Ah don’t want ya failing meh here!”

“What did she say?” Trip whispered to his teammates.

“I’ll explain later.” Marcus whispered back and then spoke to Yan. “Got it, you just tell us if your ink is getting too low.”

“Sure kid.” Was the curt reply.

Marcus huffed and faced his team, determination covering his face. Alright, it was time to get down to business and-

“WAIT, WHAT?” The sudden wail broke his concentration and both he and Trip glanced over at Pip, who was staring at the screen attached to the bucket in dismay. The screen was responsible for displaying how many Golden Eggs needed to be collected in order to get through each wave.

The other two rushed over and felt their jaws drop as they noticed what the goal was for the first wave.

“THIRTY GOLDEN EGGS?! IS MR. GRIZZ SMOKING SEAWEED OR SOMETHING?!” Trip cried out, dismay covering every inch of his face. Marcus wheezed, momentarily at a loss as he considered the, in his opinion, too high number.

_Risk vs. reward, more like high risk of failure!_ The boy thought to himself.

Usually his team would gather around twenty Golden Eggs per wave, sometimes twenty five if the tide was in their favour, but _thirty_ , as the _minimum_ they had to collect?

They were doomed.

“Don’t go gettin’ discouraged now.” That cool voice echoed in their ears once more. “We can do it, we jus gotta work togetha!”

“I guess you’re right,” Pip muttered, glancing down at the ground. “But what if-”

“What if nothin’!” The woman barked, startling the Inklings and making them jump. “Wha happens, happens, jus do yer best.”

“At least someone’s being hopeful.” Trip said, a smile returning to his face.

“She’s right team, we can do this if we work together!” Marcus cried out, lifting his Splattershot Jr. up into the air. The other two both let out a cheer, also lifting their respective weapons high.

Suddenly the sound of splashing ink filled the air, bringing with it a sense of dread.

“Teh Salmonids’re here.” Yan growled, scanning the perimeter of the island for the Steelheads that would soon be approaching.

The trio quickly spread out and it was Marcus who noticed the first wave of incoming lesser Salmonids.

“This way!” He shouted, shooting ink at the approaching enemies as he ran, Pip and Trip hot on his heels. And with that their shift began.

Now the first two waves had gone rather smoothly, all things considered.

Yan would help to point out where groups of lesser Salmonids were coming from so the Inklings would not get overwhelmed on top of taking care of a majority of the Steelheads that reached the island. From there it had been rather simple for the Inklings to rush over and collect the scattered Golden Eggs, even if dealing with the lesser Salmonids was a pain, especially the Smallfries.

If Marcus was being completely honest working this shift was far easier than he had previously thought.

The woman had a method when fighting the Steelheads, take out most of the ones that were at the shoreline but allow a few to get closer before splatting them so it would be easier for her teammates to collect their Golden Eggs.

In the first wave they had collected a total of _thirty five_ Golden Eggs, and as the second wave wrapped up the team found themselves with thirty eight Eggs in the basket. It was astonishing that, despite how high the bar had been set, each wave they managed to collect more than their target amount.

And hardly anyone had been splatted so far, granted there had been several times where Marcus and Pip had to use their special weapons, the Inkjet and Splashdown respectively, but it looked like they would be set to make it through the final wave and collect their pay.

And this, naturally, was where things started going wrong.

As soon as the next wave started multiple Steelheads rushed onto land, completely blindsiding Yan and forcing her to focus on taking them out so they did not overrun the rest of her team. This left no time for her to warn the Inklings about where the lesser Salmonids were coming from, and the trio was soon overtaken by the incoming hoards.

The situation rapidly deteriorated from there.

Pip and Trip were both quickly splatted thanks to a few well timed bombs launched from the Steelheads, and Yan found herself running out of ink soon after. She could not even revive her downed teammates and was forced to watch Marcus struggle to escape the oncoming attacks from her perch. 

She growled, grip tightening on her charger as she considered her options.

Meanwhile on the ground Marcus grunted as a bomb launched by one of the Steelheads landed near him, the explosion nearly splatting him. He could faintly hear the panicked shouts from Pip and Trip as they did their best to reach him, lifesavers bouncing through a sea of ink and turmoil.

But they both knew they would not be able to reach their leader in time.

The Inkling cringed and closed his eyes, knowing this would be the end and his team would be forced to retreat. They had gotten so close too!

But then something happened.

The sound of metal striking metal filled the air, followed by the startled gasps from the, still splatted, forms of Trip and Pip. Marcus opened his eyes and saw something that made his heart pound with hope.

It was Yan.

The tall adult stood over him, the charger she had been using, one Marcus could not remember having seen before, still touching the Steelhead that had been rushing towards him.

He could now properly make out what she looked like since she was so close to him, and was surprised to find that she was not wearing the official Salmon Run gear the rest of her team had been forced to wear. Instead she wore a jacket, with the sleeves rolled up, over a worn black shirt with some dirty jeans and black boots.

Her skin was dark, but still a bit lighter than Marcus’. Her brown eyes were narrowed and burned with, what he assumed to be anger. However, he was completely taken aback when he noticed what the tentacles on top of her head looked like.

They were incredibly small and thin, not like anything he had ever seen before, and they were _black_ too!

Maybe Yan was not an adult Inkling, but some other species that Mr. Grizz had gotten to work for him during the Salmon Run shifts...

“Back. Off.” The woman growled, nudging the Steelhead with the end of her charger. The massive Salmonid seemed confused and slightly disgusted as it stared down at Yan.

“Uh, Yan?”

“Stay back kid, Ah don’t want ye gettin’ caught in teh crossfare.” She muttered, accent growing thicker as she spoke, an obvious sign of her anger.

Before he could ask what she was talking about, Yan lunged.

A _clang_ rang out as she viciously smacked the Steelhead once again and then, to the amazement of both the Salmonids and the rest of her team, she _climbed_ the towering foe.

In seconds she was perched atop the beast, a fierce look in her eyes, and began to attack with a renewed vigor. The noise combined with the attacks aimed towards its eyes drove the Steelhead to begin moving around in an attempt to knock the woman off.

This led to several unintended side effects.

In its attempts to break free of its attacker, the Steelhead began to smash into the other Salmonids, either knocking them over or splatting the lesser ones. Soon the hoard that had been clustered around Marcus changed into a panicked mob as the beady eyed creatures tried to flee.

The throng opened up and he could see the lifesavers.

“Help yer friends!” Yan howled, continuing to rain brutal attacks down on her targets.

With that shout spurring him on, Marcus rushed forward and shot ink towards his splatted friends. Trip and Pip both popped back up and immediately began attacking the Salmonids around them with renewed vigor, also taking the time to cover the ground with ink when they could.

Marcus also took this chance to run after Yan and check on how she was doing. There was one word to describe the scene he came across.

Chaotic.

_Multiple_ Steelheads were lying on the ground, unconscious thanks to the various hits they had suffered through, as Yan proceeded to push the lesser Salmonids back into the inky ocean using her charger, or in the case of the Smallfries actually _throw_ them back.

The Inkling was torn between laughing and just shaking his head in denial. Just _how_ had Mr. Grizz hired this woman?!

It was clear that the Salmonids were disturbed by either her presence or appearance and that combined with her current ruthless behavior made her a near unstoppable force.

And to think that earlier he had been _worried_ about how weak his fourth teammate would be...

Yan soon caught sight of Marcus and, after chucking one more Smallfry back into the ocean, quickly ran over to join him. She opened up the end of her charger, again something he had never seen before, and gestured for him to shoot at the empty cavity.

“Fill ’er up!” She said, smirking at the boy.

The Inkling nodded and aimed his Splattershot Jr. at the empty cavity before taking fire. He watched, surprised, as the ink was seemingly pulled into the charger through some mysterious mechanism. Grizzco _was_ a super important business, so it only made sense that they would have some weird technology too.

In no time at all, the end of the charger snapped shut and Yan quickly looked it over, nodding in approval.

“Right, ready ta finish this up?” She asked, teeth fully bared in a smile.

“You bet!” Marcus nodded. “And thanks for helping me out back there, I owe you one.”

“Ya don’ owe meh nothin’! Now get out there an get those eggs!”

With that the duo split up, Yan sprinting back over to her tower and quickly climbing back up it while Marcus rejoined the rest of his team, forcing back the wave of weaker Salmonids. Just as the tide of enemies started to recede, the Steelheads that had been knocked unconsciously slowly began to move once more, bombs slowly filling up to be used against the trio.

Pip let out an anxious noise and took a step back, worry running through her. Their time was running out, and now they had to deal with these monsters again-

_SPLAT!_

Moments before the Steelhead could launch its bomb, a quick shot of ink caused it to burst, splatting their foe. From up in her tower, Yan looked down at the trio and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“DON’T GIVE UP! KEEP FIGHTIN’!”

Even with her strange accent, Trip and Pip needed no translation of her encouraging shout. The twins both shot forward to collect the dropped Golden Eggs, while Marcus let out his own battle cry.

“BOOYAH!”

The fighting raged on, Yan doing her best to keep the Steelheads at bay while the Inklings worked to continue collecting the eggs required to pass this wave and in turn complete their shift. Unfortunately, they needed a minimum of _forty_ eggs to make it through, and due to the scuffle, that had occurred earlier and the constant ticking of the timer, the group only had twenty-five of the needed eggs.

But they were quick to recover, bouncing back and using up their remaining specials to decimate the approaching hoards. Ink splashed and covered the battlefield, explosions rang out, and Trip occasionally returned to the tower to make sure Yan’s ink never ran out.

“YER ALMOST THERE! KEEP GOIN’!” The sniper shouted as she continued to take out the Steelheads that were moments away from overpowering the Inklings. “YA NEED ONE MORE AN THERE AIN’T MUCH TIME LEFT!”

At that, yet another one of the many Steelheads exploded in a splash of ink, this time thanks to a couple well timed shots from Trip, leaving three Golden Eggs floating in the mess. Marcus shot towards them, swiftly swimming across the battlefield and only managing to scoop up one in his haste to get it back to the container.

With three seconds left on the clock, the Inkling pushed himself to swim as fast as possible. Jumping from patches of ink and ducking behind cover when one of the _many_ bombs thrown by the Steelheads went off, he could hear Trip and Pip getting splatted in the background yet again.

His team had worked so hard, Yan had helped them out so much, he would not let them down by failing here!

A hoard of lesser Salmonids appeared in front of him, as if sensing his goal, but luckily for him Yan had also noticed his plight. One quick snipe and the hoard was splatted, and Marcus found himself in front of the basket.

With one second remaining!

He swiftly returned to his inkling form and, as gently as possible, _slammed_ the Egg into the basket just before it closed.

The siren sounded and the Salmonids retreated into the inky depths where they had emerged, knowing if they stuck around on the land for any longer that they would be swiftly and mercilessly splatted. Marcus let out a cheer and a well-aimed snipe from Yan resulted in both Trip and Pip being fixed up.

Pip ran and tackled Marcus in a hug, knocking the older boy over in the process as Trip stood to the side and watched.

“Hey-Pip!”

“We did it! We did it! I can’t believe we did it!”

“Ya did good, kids.” The older woman drawled as she joined the trio, sending the group a proud smile and thumbs up. “Ya didn’t give up er stop fightin’. Good on all three’o ya.”

“Congrats, you managed to survive your Fetch shift, now get back to the boat!” Mr. Grizz suddenly said, speaking for the first time since the match started.

“And Yan, I don’t _ever_ want you to pull a stunt like that again! You could have destroyed valuable company property!” The gruff business owner began to rant, frustration and annoyance present in his voice.

“Wait, so that charger Yan was using is an _exclusive_ weapon or something?” Trip asked, taking a step forward and analyzing the weapon with eager eyes. “I thought it looked weird…”

“ _Classified_ company property-”

“Ah’ll get goin’ once ya let meh say bye to mah team.” Yan suddenly drawled, completely cutting off the rant Mr. Grizz was about to get into. “Unless ye wanna delay teh next shift.”

The Inklings cringed, all expected the grouchy business owner to start yelling, but were surprised when they heard laughter instead. Mr. Grizz sounded _amused_ , something none of the trio had ever heard before, or heard about. It was weird and made Marcus wonder what exactly the connection between the weird looking adult and elusive businessman was.

“Fine, fine, but be ready to work a double shift next time!” The woman waved off the mild punishment and focused on the trio in front of her.

“Ye three did good, it was nice ta meet ya.” Yan said, crossing her arms and grinning down at them as she spoke.

“Likewise.” Marcus said, a warm smile on his face.

“Mhm! You were super cool Yan!” Pip exclaimed while throwing her arms up in the air. “I wish we could fight in Turf Wars with you! Then we’d _definitely_ kick butt!”

“I hope we’ll get to work with you in the future.” Trip politely commented. “It was a cool experience, and one I won’t forget anytime soon.”

“Heh, Ah’m honored ye think so much of meh.” Yan looked off to the side and scratched the back of her head. “Ah’ll be lookin’ fer ye three next time the tide’s right.”

The grumbling coming from everyone’s headset was their warning that Mr. Grizz was only willing to listen to their conversation for so long, and that it was time to head back. Trip waved goodbye, Marcus fist bumped the older woman, and Pip, surprisingly enough, gave her a _hug_ before they all got into position to super jump back to the boat.

The noise Yan made when Pip hugged her would never be forgotten in Marcus and Trip’s minds. The choked wheeze combined with the tensioning of her entire frame perfectly demonstrated how _not okay_ she was with the physical affection, but before she could voice her complaints Pip let go and skipped over to her teammates, allowing them to finally return and switch out of their borrowed gear and into their typical attire.

Marcus was especially pleased to be able to finally wear his favourite shades.

Leaving the Grizzco building the sight that greeted the trio was, surprising, to say the least.

A hoard of Inklings was gathered in front of the building, some standing on the ramp, others in front of the bonus collection booth, and even a couple sitting on the ground playing with their phones. It was obvious that they had all been waiting for something, but Marcus was not sure what-

“THEY’RE BACK!” A voice shouted and then, much like the shift they had just worked, the hoard of Inklings descended on them.

“What was the shift like?”  
  
“How much cash did ya make???”

“Did you lose?! Did those creepy Salmonids get you?”

  
  
“Hey, what’s the reward for working that shift like?”

Marcus was immediately overwhelmed by the various questions, but fortunately enough both Trip and Pip were more than willing to talk about what had gone on, and brag about being the first Inklings to “befriend” Yan.

Granted, that was more so Pip bragging about the friendship rather than Trip.

“Hey, Marcus.” A familiar voice said, one separate from the hoard of excited Inklings. The older boy turned around and found himself looking at two faces he had recognized from the various Turf Wars he had fought in before teaming up with Pip and Trip.

“Oh, hey Zed and Max!” He greeted, a warm smile on his face. Max waved while Zed nodded in acknowledgement.

“Sooooooo, what was that new shift like dude?” Max asked, rocking back and forth on her heels as she spoke. “We know you don’t add on extra details and stuff like the kids you chill with, so give us the scoop!”

“Well, uh, you see-”

“And then BAM!” The sound of Pip’s voice cut Marcus’ explanation off, and the three older Inklings turned to look at what the younger one was talking about. They were just in time to watch Pip smack her fist into the palm of her hand, emphasizing her point. “She smacked that Steelhead with her charger!”

Gasps erupted from the gathered Inklings. Zed and Max, despite wanting to get the full story from Marcus, decided that Pip’s tale was a bit more entertaining at the moment and quickly rushed over to join the growing crowd.

“No way!” One of the assembled Inklings shouted, her shoulder length tentacles flying about as she shook her head in denial.

“Yeah way!” Trip shouted back, a surprising display of emotions from the boy that were probably caused by his sister’s enthusiasm. “We saw her do it, and if she hadn’t we ALL would have gotten splatted!”

More gasps and hushed whispers ran through the crowd, the focus of every conversation being the strange adult known as Yan. Marcus could not help but chuckle to himself. From what he had seen of Yan he had a feeling she was the type of person to get flustered when she was at the center of attention.

The twins continued their tale, talking about the near countless Steelheads that had attacked the grounded trio and the _efficiency_ Yan showed when taking them out. The duo claimed that she was the best charger user they had ever seen, but many Inklings in the crowd turned to look at Marcus for confirmation.

The older boy had been fighting in Turf Wars for far longer than his teammates and had undoubtedly seen a variety of talented charger users. When he nodded in agreement more whispers broke out.

An _adult_ using a _charger_ for _Salmon Run_ , a concept most Inklings would not believe unless they saw it with their own eyes.

It was as if that nod was what the crowd needed as multiple groups of three began to rush towards the Grizzco building, excitedly chattering about the new shift and the chance to meet Yan.

Marcus smirked and the twins waved to their listeners, wishing them good luck in working the newest shift. Max and Zed both called out to Marcus, informing him that they would be interrogating him later after he got some rest.

With the excitement having died down somewhat, and the focus shifting off of them, the trio quickly broke away from the main group and stood off to the side, taking a moment to breathe and relax after everything that had happened.

“Hey Marcus?” Trip said, glancing up at his leader.

“Yeah?”

“We are going to run more shifts of Fetch again, right?”

“You bet!” Marcus grinned and sent him a thumbs up. “We promised Yan, didn’t we?”

“Yeah! I can’t wait to see her again and show off some cool tricks!” Pip exclaimed. “Oh, and maybe next time we’ll get to use some of those super cool weapons too like what Yan had!”

“Maybe, it probably depends on if Yan breaks them all first.”

The group laughed at the joke as they walked away from the building, deciding that seeing what their rewards were _after_ the hype had died down was the better option than attracting another crowd. As they walked back into the open square, Pip eagerly talking about what new clothes she wanted to buy, Marcus thought back on their encounter with Yan, a single question running through his mind.

_Who… who is she?_

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Hours later, Yan sighed as she kicked open the door to her room, strode inside, and flopped down on her worn, somewhat messy bed. She let out a groan, muscles aching from having to stay up in that damn tower for so long, and pressed her face into her pillow.

… Or she did until she heard her phone go off.

“Ah shit.” She muttered as she rolled over and pulled the device out of her pocket. The phone, too, was fairly worn and the Grizzco logo was proudly displayed on the back, not that it was something that bothered her. She tapped the screen and watched as it turned on.

She had a single message from the boss himself, what an _honor._

Sarcasm aside, Yan actually had a fairly positive relationship with Mr. Grizz. It was thanks to him that she had managed to find a job, a place to stay…

And someone to fill her in on everything that had happened.

The older woman quickly scanned over the message, taking note of the mild scolding that was aimed at her earlier moment of “madness”, when she had attacked the Salmonids with her charger, and focusing more so on the reception of the Fetch shifts.

It was good, most of the Inklings enjoyed the challenge and were fairly successful with their shifts, despite there definitely being quite the learning curve, which meant that the shift was going to be sticking around.

Guaranteeing a source of income for Yan to use, if she was ever able to actually interact with the new world she had woken up in.

Her eyes shut for a moment as she considered everything that had happened to her and she let out a sigh. There was no point in getting caught up on the past, even if she thought about it quite often. She had to focus on the future, on surviving and figuring out a way forward. But for now…

She dropped her phone and curled up on her bed. It was time to get some rest.

**Author's Note:**

> So that was Fetch! I hope you guys enjoyed it and please leave a review telling me if you enjoyed this concept, story, or both! 
> 
> -ImmortalCoelacanth


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